DARPA Eyes Curved High-Performance Infrared Focal Plane Array Sensors for Military and Aerospace Uses
The FOCII project seeks to curve large- and small-format, cryogenically cooled, medium-wave and long-wave infrared imagers with extreme radii of curvature.
Arlington, VA – U.S. military researchers are asking industry to develop curved, large-format, cryogenically cooled, infrared focal plane array electro-optical sensors for a wide variety of military and aerospace applications.
Officials of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington issued a solicitation Friday (HR001119S0078) for the FOcal arrays for Curved Infrared Imagers (FOCII) project.
FOCII seeks to develop two kinds of curved long-wave and mid-wave infrared focal plane arrays:
An existing state-of-the-art 2,000 x 2,000-pixel, 55-millimeter, diagonal, cryogenically cooled detectors with a radius of curvature of 70 millimeters without any change to the underlying array design process.
2,000 x 2,000-pixel, 35-millimeter, diagonal, cryogenically cooled sensors with an 12.5-millimeter radius of curvature using structured designs.
Related Link
FBO Solicitation: FOcal arrays for Curved Infrared Imagers (FOCII), due October 18, 2019.